If Convicted of Sex Abuse, What’s Right Sentence for Middle School Teacher? Iowa Patch Poll

An Iowa middle school teacher was charged last week with 11 counts of third-degree sexual abuse after authorities said he had established a relationship with one girl, a 13-year-old current student at Urbandale Middle School, by texting her about “cutting” and other issues among adolescents.

The teacher, Benjamin Joseph Hoffman, 23, of West Des Moines, is also accused of having sex with another minor, a 14-year-old former student at Norwalk, in his apartment.

Among the circumstances under which third-degree sexual abuse charges are filed are those in which “the person is in a position of authority over the other person and uses that authority to coerce the other person to submit” to a sexual act.

Third-degree sexual abuse is a Class C felony punishable by not more than 10 years in prison. Hoffman was also charged with one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee, punishable by up to five years in prison; and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor, punishable by up to a year in prison

If convicted on all the charges, Hoffman could face a maximum of 117 years in jail, or a minimum of less than a decade.

Should mandatory minimum sentences be the law in sex-abuse cases? Tell us below in the comments.

Michael Shepard, the father of an Iowa teenager who was murdered by a man released on sex crimes after 11 years because of Iowa’s good behavior law, says that if Michael Klunder had served the entire 41-year sentence imposed after his conviction, Kathlynn Shepard would be alive today, according to the Des Moines Register.

However, the Iowa County Attorneys Association says no, that imposing mandatory minimum sentences will do more harm than good.